Ironing boards normally in use have an ironing surface which is currently often made of expanded metal. A rest surface which is situated at the blunt end of the ironing board is provided for the iron. The iron may be placed horizontally or in an oblique position at a predefined angle here. Flexible rods fixedly attached to the iron rest are used as cable holders for the iron cord. Foldable legs which may be folded up on the bottom of the ironing board are attached underneath the ironing board. As a result, the ironing board requires little space for storage. The legs are designed such that they permit the board height to be adjusted to different heights, so that the board is adaptable to the size of the operator. Except for this possibility of height adjustment, the boards are otherwise equipped in a very inflexible manner and offer little possibility of adjustment to changed conditions.
DE 195 26 637 A1 describes an ironing board in which the iron rest has a coupling part for an extension cord which is used for conducting current from a wall outlet to the ironing board. The coupling part is designed as an outlet into which the plug of the iron cord can be inserted. The iron cord itself may pass through a cable holding device. The tensile force occurring here due to the deflection or bending of the cable holding device interferes with the ironing operation. When ironing, the cable is maximally tensioned at the narrow tip of the ironing board, where the tensile force is therefore high. In addition, when the iron is put down on the rest surface, the cable guide is easily twisted and the cable is in the way on the rest surface. The rest surface itself is formed by a sheet metal insert which receives a rotatable iron rest. The rotatable iron rest represents an improvement with respect to a rigid rest because it allows the iron to be placed oriented in different directions. However, when changing from a right-handed to a left-handed operator, the cable holding device must be changed from the left side of the iron rest to the right side.
GB 2 124 616 A describes a possibility of a different type of adjustment of the iron rest position relative to the length of the ironing board. For this purpose, the ironing board is equipped with guide strips underneath the board surface in which the iron rest may be displaced via holding rods over the ironing board in the longitudinal direction of the ironing board. In this way the iron rest may be displaced from its position at the blunt end of the ironing board over the end of the ironing board. This reduces the reach for the iron when ironing smaller pieces.
An object of the present invention is to improve the known ironing boards, in particular by reconfiguring the rest surface for the iron to thereby achieve greater safety and flexibility in handling the ironing board.
The design of the iron rest in the form of a drawer, so it may be pushed under the ironing board after use, represents an improvement with respect to the safety requirements. In addition, space is saved when storing the ironing board.
It is advantageous if it is possible to pull out the iron rest in two different pull-out positions and fix it in these positions. The first pull-out stage may be used for a normal steam iron and the second pull-out stage for a steam iron station.
To increase safety, the ironing rest is provided with an outlet for a power cord. This outlet is equipped with a switch for interrupting the current. In addition, it has a pilot lamp for indicating whether or not the switch is on. In addition, the outlet is designed at the same time as a handle for the displaceable iron rest.
For guiding the iron cord, the iron rest has a recess through which the iron cord is guided to be inserted with its plug into the outlet from below. A weight is suspended on the iron cord to tauten the cord.
The receptacle for the iron has an opening having two support flaps opposite one another, oriented obliquely to the ironing board surface and pointing downward. A further, third, support flap is preferably provided, which points upward and is an extension of one of the first two support flaps. The support flaps themselves are articulated to the side edges of the opening opposite one another via hinges, and, when not in use, may be folded into the plane of the opening. The support flaps may be fixed in the folded-in position.
Another improvement of the iron rest is achieved by the fact that it is equipped with a rotatable support for the iron. This rotatable support may be fixed at any angle.